Kurt Drawert has been running the Darmstädter Text Workshop for 25 years, which has produced over 200 authors to date. His achievements here are reflected in this volume—and can also be summarized, as he himself does in the preface, as follows:

Reading literary texts is always a work of interpretation and thus literary in itself. The reader meets the author halfway—namely, where the author departs from the unambiguity of his or her speech and must become metaphorical. What we read is therefore never identical to the author’s intention. A critically reflective group can reflect quite accurately how much the intention and effect of a text diverge, or to put it more simply: how understandable (in the sense of complex literary understanding) it is. The prerequisite for this is their emotional competence, freedom from aggression and competitive pressure, and the ability to offer a safe space for discussion. For me, as the workshop leader, this means moderating a group with the utmost sensitivity so that it can achieve this on its own. Paying attention to these connections, through which literature is also influenced from outside during its creation, by its ability to relate and its quality of contact, is perhaps what makes our workshop so special. Discovering literary talent is only the beginning; developing it and establishing it editorially is the goal. Literary craftsmanship also plays a role, of course—and we highlight it and discuss it. But that surplus of meaning and significance that only literature can provide, that special way of speaking beyond the sayable, which also expresses the unspeakable, cannot be conveyed by technique alone—it always requires complex analysis.

The contributions in this volume come from workshop participants over the past five years. The table of contents with all voices and texts can be downloaded HERE (PDF).

It brings together contributions from Sina Ahlers; Florian Aigner; Markus B. Altmeyer; Martina Bilke; Anne Diekhoff; David Emling; Elena Fischer; Jana Fuchs; Lisa Goldschmidt; Julia Grinberg; Geraldine Gutiérrez-Wienken; Diana Hellwig; Michael Hüttenberger; Sven-Thore Kramm; Grit Krüger; Martine Lombard; Daniel Mylow; Stephanie Nebenführ; Alexander Pfannenberg; Nicola Quaß; Angela Regius; Heike Schäfer; Sigune Schnabel; Anne Stolle; Christian Strauch; Miriam Tag; Fanny Tanck; Christoph Wirges.

Michael Braun, Heidelberg, says of the literature workshop: »What particularly impressed me was the incredible concentration with which the discussions were conducted and the great openness of the participants to listen carefully, accept criticism of their own texts, and take it seriously.«

Thanks to Ute Döring for the photographic cover motif, which shows the sculpture »Zwischen den Zeiten« (Between Times) by Hubertus von der Goltz.